My guess is that a bunch of us, including myself, didn’t make legend this season. For those that want but did not achieve, here’s a quick guide to start you off on the right foot:

Start playing today.

Try to play 2-3 games at least every day.

On free days, schedule a 1-4 hour period dedicated to climbing ladder.

Try to log at least 150 games by season’s end.

But Deezl, you didn’t hit legend.

I hit legend the previous season, but this season, I only logged about 60 serious games, which is not nearly enough to pierce the veil. Damn you Diablo III!

Anyway, I strongly advocate playing more as the best way to reach legend. Most people spend too much time on arena, messing with decks that don’t work, and watching streams to rank up effectively.

I’m stuck at rank X! What do I do?

Start tracking your play and making improvements to your style and your deck. Here’s a few things to track:

Win/loss rate vs. certain decks.

Any turn where you didn’t spend all of your mana. Write down why. Look for patterns. (it’s not always correct to spend all of your mana, but this can help you identify cards that are too situational, a curve that’s too high or too low, and other common issues).

Any cards left in your hand at the end of a game. Look for patterns of cards that just aren’t playable, and evaluate if you get enough situational value out of them to keep them.

It’s possible that your deck just sucks, but it’s more likely and more useful to know that some of your cards just aren’t working out.

I want to wait until later in the season to play so I don’t lose ranks to good players.

This is a bit like not using your hero power when you have extra mana. The games you didn’t play today? You don’t get those back tomorrow when the ladder is easier. You can play 2 today and 2 tomorrow, but if you skip 2 today, you won’tplay 4 tomorrow. Don’t trust me: Look at your history. When you were assigned a class project, did you skip three days of work and then make sure to make up those days by working double the time later? No, you left it all until the last minute and crammed a week’s worth of homework into 3 hours. Your volcano got a C, didn’t it?

Another valid point is that time spent at legend is a lot more free and fun than time spent at rank 1-4. Ladder anxiety goes away. You can try out crazy decks. You’re legend. The fun starts there!

This seems like a lot of work.

Much like your shitty volcano, Legends are not made in a day. Long story short, you need to hit 150+ serious games to break legend. Individual results may vary, but more playing is required. Play more. Plan to play. Track stats. Make improvements. Learn matchups. Play even more. Keep playing. Don’t not play. I’ll see you at the top!